One of the best things about being a journalist is knowing about news before anyone else. Well, almost anyone else. Often it's someone who's part of a story who knows the news first, but he or she is taking it for granted that what they know or what they are planning to do will become a story.
The one I have in mind is almost certain to become a story.
Now, things are different than five, even 10 years ago. First, the explosion of the web made real time news imperative. And I like that. With social media, it's a whole new game and we seem to be making up the rules as we go along. But there will always be stories that are not ready for real time and the one I have in mind fits that bill.
For one thing, even though we have the facts in order, the actual news hasn't occurred yet. But, there is an aspect of it that makes it tempting to report. Reporting it now won't further that story; it could unintentionally shape it, and we'd never want to do that.
However, it's still tempting to share what we know now. After some careful thought, I still think it's best to let things take their natural course and plan for in-depth, rather than real-time reporting.
Of course, if the natural course flows a certain way, there's noting stopping us from doing both. We'll just have to see.
